Finding Love
by williamsangel88
Summary: After everything Suguha figured that she just wasn't meant to find love. Who knew that she would find it in the strangest individual ever to roam the digital lands. Post-war and starts with SAO in Harry's P.O.V.
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Love**

**Summary:** After everything Suguha figured that she just wasn't meant to find love. Who knew that she would find it in the strangest individual ever to roam the digital lands. Post-war and starts with SAO in Harry's P.O.V.

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Harry Potter or Sword Art Online.

**Warnings:** OOC (as always), language, violence and a possibility of Lemons in future. The timeline will be slightly different as SAO is set in 2022-2024 and Harry Potter finished in 1997. Just work with me on this.

**Pairings:** Asuna/Kirigaya(Kirito), Harry/Suguha(Leafa)

**Chapter 1  
How it all started**

Harry watched impassively as his employer explained his devious plan to all the trapped players. _How had it come to this?_ Ever since the war Harry had sought peace and quiet, pulled into the Muggle technology world to get as far away from the Wizarding World as possible. Being the Master of Death should have prevented him from dying, but it sure as Hell hadn't prevented him from getting his mind locked away in a scientific project. He had agreed with the experiment, clear and healthy of mind, seeing it as a new experience. Something his employer had praised him about.

His body was now lying somewhere in the depths of Kayaba's experimental laboratory, carefully monitored and hooked up to a virtual reality system. It's been years since he had seen the daylight, almost two since he had felt the warmth of the sun on his face. He didn't blame Kayaba for getting him stuck in this virtual world, he had agreed to it after all. Never could he have known the consequences of those actions though.

Harry had watched as the world was build around him. Kayaba had given him free reign to change the landscape to whatever he desired. It was the least the scientist could do for him. His employer had shown remorse after the first year and had promised to see if he could get Harry out of his own system, but whatever Kayaba tried the Hero of the Wizarding World had remained quite stuck in this virtual reality.

When Kayaba came to him, all excited about getting permission to get Beta-testers for his game, Harry had been a little worried and excited at the same time. Something about seeing other people and interacting with them made him hopeful for the future. Kayaba had made him part of the game, giving him access to secret information gamers could ask in exchange for money or items. The importance of the information he would give depended on the amount of money or rarity of the item. The higher the level the player wanted to clear, the rarer the item or higher the amount of money had to be.

Not a lot of players had known about him though. Through the entire testing faze only two-hundred from the thousand players found out about his use. To the others he had just been another player or sometimes even thought of as an NPC.

After months of testing, Kayaba suddenly changed. He kept creating different gaming object which were almost unbeatable unless you had a level higher then 50 and he kept restricting Harry's use. The copy of Hogwarts castle Harry had created in the middle of floor 42's forest had become the ex-Wizard's permanent residence and for a long time the raven head had only been able to move on certain floor's. The weeks between the end of the Beta tests and the launch of the game the green eyed Hero had only been able to move around floor 42.

Kayaba seemed all apologetic when he visited the irritated twenty-two year old the day before the launch. He explained that a few glitches and bugs had infested on of the floors and so couldn't have anyone 'messing around'. Harry had found it suspicious since he had been hired to keep the system running. Even if he could no longer wake up in the real world, he still had authorization to prevent things like that. Hell, it was what he had been hired for.

Now that Kayaba had started to explain his experiment Harry couldn't feel surprised anymore. It was probably because the Wizard was stuck in this virtual world that Kayaba got the idea in the first place. Harry just couldn't understand why the Kayaba _he_ knew would trap a number of innocent people inside his virtual world.

The projection of a cloaked Kayaba in the sky vanished and Harry sighed softly as he looked at the clear panic on people's faces. With the information given, many would contemplate suicide and inexperienced players would get themselves killed trying to level up. He guessed that almost half would be dead in about two or three months. His information database provided him with knowledge on who was a Beta-tester, a seasoned gamer and a novice. Basically who would have the most chance on surviving the game.

"What do you think?" Kayaba's voice came from behind him and the green eyed Wizard turned to watch his employer intently watching him. Harry raised a single eyebrow and turned to stare at the distraught prisoners beneath him. He let out a low sound, not really interested in having a conversation with the creator of this virtual prison. "Oh come on Harry," he continued, obviously not sensing the mood or just not giving up. "This could actually cause a break through. If they know how to break out of this virtual world then we might be able to do the same for you."

"Oh, so that is your excuse for locking up how many people inside this virtual reality system?" He continued to stare down, watching as at least two people escaped the madness. One a Beta-tester and the other an experienced gamer.

He could almost feel the scientist pouting behind him. "Don't be like that Harry. You know how much I appreciate you working for me and how sorry I am for locking you into the system."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes we all know how _sorry_ you are. The fact that you locked me on floor 42 for an entire 2 months reminds me how much you want to help me."

"I explained about the…"

"Bugs, yes I know," Harry interrupted. He turned fully, facing his employer with more anger then he had ever felt. Even when he had been receiving Voldemort's anger through the link with the older Wizard he hadn't felt nearly as much anger as he was feeling now. Kayaba visibly flinched at the raven head's anger. "But why did you take these children prisoner? I would have happily been part of your game until you found a way to free me, but in the mean time you came up with this insane idea that I might actually be happy with permanent company. Why, Kayaba-sensei, why was this necessary?"

The young scientist looked sad and slightly lost, staring at his shoes. "Maybe this was a step too far," the man whispered suddenly. "But what is done, is done. I cannot undue it now."

Harry folded his arms across his chest and sighed in annoyance. "Stop looking so pathetic," the twenty-two year old snapped. "Are you Kayaba Akihiko or not? You are my sensei, you taught me everything I know and I worked with you side by side to get this program up and running. I know you Kayaba. You might be a little heartless sometimes but I also know that you would have made a back-up plan should things go wrong. You haven't made the same mistake twice ever since I got locked inside your virtual world. So undo this while you still can. _Please_."

The silence which had fallen between them was only interrupted by the talking and shouting from below. Kayaba looked up, staring at Harry with a peculiar look in his eyes. One the green eyed Wizard had seen many times before. "I can't undo what I have done, but I can make you a promise." Harry frowned but let the man speak. "As I am now part of the game as well, I will participate. It was what I had planned in the beginning. I am the end boss you see." The slight sadistic glint in the scientists eyes made Harry slightly worried. "I planned to lay low for a while, make a few appearances here and there until I deemed it a good enough time to start a guild. As soon as the players band together to make the first multiplayer party and find the first boss room I will enter the playing field."

Harry nodded. "Very well. What will you have me do?"

"The same as you did before," Kayaba said, clearly happy that Harry was willing to forget for now so they could plan for the future of the game. "You will have information which you can trade with. This time the stakes will be higher of course. We have to keep it interesting. You are allowed to travel between floors but can only give the information once the players reach your floor."

"No," Harry interrupted quickly. "That will take too long. By the time the players reach floor 42 most of my information will be useless. I want to be able to trade my information from all floors."

"We have to keep it interesting," Kayaba said with a shake of the head.

"Interesting! You've created a bloody Death Game. I think the players will be worried about other things then how interesting the game is!"

The scientist held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Very well, very well. How about settling on floors 5, 14, 28, 33 and 42 then? I'll give you permission to set up a few shops and houses you can use on those floors and a build in alarm system the moment a costumer enters. It will give you other things to do as well if you open up an armoury and something like an item and food store. You will still have your castle on floor 42 so I don't think you will need an extra item shop on that floor."

"Fine," Harry said with a short nod. It wasn't ideal but it would have to do. He could see that he couldn't argue with his boss. "What will you be?"

Kayaba blinked before grinning. "I will be an expert swordsman and Guild Leader of course." Harry rolled his eyes. _Of course_.

…**SAO…**

The Cardinal system was annoying Harry to the point of destroying half his property. Of course, being in a gaming system this meant that a lot of screens of _immortal objects_ appeared. Logging into his own system, Harry changed his training field slightly and created a giant creature which reminded him of the Basilisk he slayed in second year. Equipping his sword, the Wizard set about destroying the newly created creature to blow off some steam.

A month had passed and according to the Monument of Life more than a thousand players had already died. The first group had yet find the boss room. Even the Beta tester had yet to pass onto the next level of Aincrad. It meant that Harry had been alone, left to his own devices for an entire month. He was seriously considering forcing the system to get him to the first floor. It may leave him locked out for a few months though, leaving him unable to assist anyone for a long while. He didn't really like the idea of that.

It was just so damn lonely here and ever since he was little he hated being unable to help. Whether it was seeing Dudley hurt others or watching his best friends sacrifice their lives for him. No, watching others get killed was a lot worse than being lonely.

The Creature exploded into a million tiny shards, floating around for a little while longer before disappearing completely. It had taken Harry all but half an hour to kill the Creature, but his tea was still warm. Just the way he liked it. "Merlin I hate this place," Harry muttered, placing the cup back on the table with just a little bit more force then necessary. "I know I shouldn't probably talk to myself but who am I supposed to talk to if those idiots can't find their way through the system. Maybe I should have created a sign or make a self updating map which alerts when secret passages are nearby."

With a thoughtful expression Harry leaned against his table, staring out over the clearing and towards the rising sun. Would that be possible? It sure as hell wouldn't be impossible. Each player who had reached a certain level would be able to unlock the skill. All Harry would be doing was give them the ability sooner. It couldn't be classified as cheating, not necessarily anyway and it would make his solitude a little more bearable knowing he would have been able to help those poor players now.

But how to go about it? He would need to create a small wormhole for him to rush through. It would give him but a few minutes before Cardinal would throw him back out of the system and to his own floor. Those few minutes could be all he could need. He had all the information right here. First to create the access code to the new map, linking it to an object so a player who finds it would be able to share it with others. Making it so the primary player wouldn't loose the extra skill, Harry placed the data on a scroll attached to a dagger. That way he could throw it and leave anonymously.

The object appeared in front of him, spinning slowly on the dagger's tip and the scroll hanging from the golden handle. It's blade was engraved with familiar markings and the crest of Gryffindor decorated the handle. This one wasn't special, only to be used for throwing, but the rest of Harry's sword collection was reinforced with spells and enchantments. Each blade was unique, crafted to remind Harry of the world he left behind. Much like his homes, his weapons represented unique stages in his life and however much he had tried to run from it, being a Wizard was in his blood.

"And so in being a Gryffindor," Harry stated, his green eyes sparkling with life as he pressed the last few buttons on his control panel. "System code; Honour. Destination; First floor, Town of Tolbana." And with that Harry disappeared only to reappear in the Town of Beginning. Checking his bearings he quickly moved towards the meeting stadium. He wouldn't be able to interact with the people around him, but if he could get his dagger to the right sort of people…

Harry jumped up on one of the pillars surrounding the stadium and froze. Who would have thought that most of the people would be gathered here? Checking his system, he noticed two Beta players in the stadium. One was standing on the platform, speaking to the crowd in front of him while the other was sitting on one of the back rows. Shock ran through his system when Harry recognised the child, or at least the child's data. Kirito, one of the testers who had first found out about him and came highest of all the Beta testers.

"Good, so at least capable player survived," Harry mumbled and summoned the item. His timer was telling him that he had only a few seconds left. Gripping the dagger's blade between his thumb and primary finger, he took aim and let it fly. It imbedded itself in the flooring in front of the Beta player which was standing on the podium. Just as his system flashed the error, Kirito looked up and at him.

"Good luck," Harry called, gaining everyone else's attention as well. "I'll be waiting." And the system pushed him back towards his floor, freezing him into place. At least he was projected onto his favourite chair, a cup of steaming hot tea and a plate with biscuits placed on the side table. Even if it was warm outside, the fire was roaring, it's comfortable warmth washing over the Wizard.

"I don't know if I should be disappointed or impressed," Kayaba said the moment he walked into the room. The Scientist seated himself across from the Wizard, staring at Harry with impassive steely eyes. "You do realise that your action caused you to be locked inside of this house for the week and this floor for the following month. No more creating monsters, no more mock battles. The only way you get to do is run for your life when you meet one of the creatures in this forest. And no, I do not know what will happen when you die in this game. It is high likely you will die in the real world, just like the other players, but you could also be reborn here or your mind will be transferred back into your body. And before you are going to try anything, your body is being kept in a comatose state and the only one who knows were you are is me."

Harry raised a single eyebrow. At least he had been unfrozen again. "Oh and who's looking after your body? Don't tell me you're logging out every night?"

For a moment Harry feared that the man would remain silent, staring into the graphic flames in the fireplace. "Koujiro-san," the Scientist muttered. With that single word Harry recognised the man he had accepted as his sensei, the man who had taught him everything about the gaming system they had worked on. Everything to test human emotions in the most extreme forms. That woman, Koujiro Rinko, had been the drive behind the man sitting in front of Harry.

"So it's Rinko-san who is looking after me," Harry said with a reminiscing smile. Rinko had been a source of inspiration and fun. The mischievous spirit inside that brilliant mind had caused for a lot of mayhem on the work floor. She was a breath of fresh air and a sister to Harry in all but blood. "I'm glad to be in such capable hands. I guess we wouldn't have trusted anyone else to look after our bodies."

Kayaba nodded thoughtfully and a comfortable silence fell between the two men. Both were staring into the flames, before Harry suddenly sighed deeply and looked up at the Scientist. "So, what happens now sensei?" the Wizard asked. "Apart from me being locked on this floor."

"Not much," Kayaba said with a smile, still staring into the flames. "I will wait till they've defeated the first boss. It shouldn't take them more then a few days now that they have all the necessary information. The first Guilds will start soon and with my new Avatar I will surely rise up to be the Leader of the Guild. One of the few who will lead the gamers through Aincrad."

"Hmm," Harry hummed thoughtfully. The wolf in sheep's clothing. Those gamer wouldn't know what hit them once they reached the 100th floor. "What will you call it, the Guild?" He already knew what name the Scientist had chosen.

Kayaba turned to him with a toothy grin, his eyes shining almost with madness. "Knights of Blood."

…**SAO…**

"Ah Argo-kun, what can I do for you today?" Harry asked, placing his weapon back into his storage and turning to the gamer who was standing in his shop. It took a month for the first group of players to reach the fifth floor and a week later Argo had found him. Out of all the players, she was the most experienced in finding information. It's why they called her 'the rat', though not in a dirty rodent kind of way. The fact that she got most of her information from him remained their secret.

She nodded in greeting. "It's good to see you are doing well. I hope you don't mind that I send along a few people to get their equipment from here?"

The Wizard grinned. "I don't mind the company," he admitted, placing an item he had kept on the side for her on the counter. "Though I was surprised that Kirito-kun had to come to you before finding me. I wonder why that was."

Argo inspected the item for a moment before raising an eyebrow at him. "It's expensive," she muttered, but excepted it nonetheless. "I know someone who will like this." Harry accepted it with a nod. She always did. "The system is weird around your house, it is probably why the other players couldn't find you at first. I remembered your data information from the tests that is why I was able to find you so quickly. Now the gamers will have to speak to me before being able to find you, same goes for your shop."

Harry nodded at the explanation and sighed. Just another obstacle Kayaba had created. "Do you have any information on level seven?" Argo asked. She knew that some things were beyond his control, Harry had tried a few times to give them information without asking for a price. Looking for loopholes in the loopholes. Unfortunately the system was well protected.

"There is one thing," Harry checked the information he had on the seventh floor. "You'll like this. Forest infestation, a lot of high level monsters and _restricted information. The information you are about to give is restricted. Please input access code._"

That happened a lot and Harry figured that the higher the players got, the more it would happen. Argo hummed thoughtfully. "That is one interesting place to be," she said with a playful smile. "Why Harry-kun, I believe I have some information to sell. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Harry nodded. The girl sure was smart. "When you see our Black Swordsman tell him his sword is ready. I think he will like the modifications I placed on it." She left with a nod and a wave, disappearing into the night.

The next morning Kirito came knocking at first light. Harry grumbled at the early hour the boy had decided to show up, still munching on a piece of toast as he let the dark clothed kid in. "Morning Harry-san," he said with a serious look in his eyes. "Argo told me you finished my sword… should I come back later?"

Realising he must look a little dishevelled, Harry simply waved the boy in. "I got it right here. Have you eaten yet? I'm quite sure you only eat those dreadful buns with cream you win from quests or berries you find in the forest."

"I also get food at the Inns and restaurants," Kirito protested, clearly offended. The kid had grown on him. He was smart, frighteningly so at times, but had no social skills to speak off. It was why Kirito was always on his own. The kid thrived in his loneliness, but had the drive to work for the people looking for ways to clear floors faster then anyone. Being a solo player was hard when you wanted to clear the dungeon, but also had its advantages. No need to share last hit bonuses or items won in quests. It was also why Harry invited Kirito to eat with him whenever the kid came to him.

"Yes and how much do you pay for those?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes while he made his way to the back, gesturing for Kirito to follow him. "I hope you'll like what I did with the sword anyway. The items you gave me are all incorporated into it, making it a little heavier then the original you had. It should also match your outfit perfectly."

Harry moved to his storage space where he kept the weapons he worked on and logged in. Scrolling through the weapons list, he selected Kirito's weapon before throwing it to the kid. Kirito expertly caught it, his eyes widening in surprise when he noticed how heavy it was and how the blade had changed. "Keep updating it and you'll be barely able to lift it," Harry muttered, moving to sit at the table and continue his breakfast. "Then again when you get used to handling a heavy blade it will make you a fearful opponent."

"I do not fight against fellow players," Kirito stated in a cold voice. It was clearly a sensitive subject for him and Harry sighed before biting into his beacon and eggs. They both remained silent throughout the meal which Kirito joined after a few hesitant minutes. Sipping from his tea and feeling quite content, Harry stared pensively at the weapon he had created for his friend.

"How long until the next boss battle?" the Wizard asked casually. He browsed through his item list to see if he had anything worth selling to his favourite Black Swordsman.

Kirito was leaning with his elbows on his knees looking quite pensive as he sipped from his tea. "Not long now," he mumbled. "Do you think badly of me that I leave them to fend for themselves? Should I join a party to share my experience?"

"Is that your conscience talking?" Harry asked thoughtfully, filling his cup with some more tea. He gestured for Kirito, but the dark haired gamer shook his head. "If you want to join a Guild then join one, if you don't then don't. At least promise me something though, always be truthful. If not to others then at least be to yourself. You may hide your skill level from others or even the amount of items you possess, but at least be truthful to yourself about your abilities. You don't have to be part of a Guild to destroy monsters." The Wizard looked at Kirito for a while before smiling. "To be honest I don't think you would be suited for being in a Guild. Just imagine, you would have to talk with people and share your ideas."

The Black Swordsman looked up and stared at the grinning Wizard for a while before sighing. "You really are troublesome sometimes, I really don't know why I bother coming to you for anything." Kirito stood and stretched, picking up the weapon Harry had updated for him. Testing the feel for the weapon the kid really did look like an experienced fighter.

"Would you like to test it?" Harry asked, a mischievous glint alight in his emerald green eyes.

Kirito looked him in the eye and sighed once more. "I'm going to regret this aren't I?"

**A/N: Well, that's it for the first chapter. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: WOW, an update! *giggles* That certainly took a long time. Thank you all for being patient with me. I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. I was really happy when I received the first one and my inspiration soared again when I read the last one. I had been meaning to write this chapter shortly after the first was published but some things got in the way. We all know what that is like… Anyway, time for some answers!**

_**To Kurai's Calisto**_**: I hope you've been able to watch SAO by now :P I must disappoint. I will not write anything about the outside world until Harry leaves SAO and we will switch to Suguha. This is mainly to keep into the spirit of the story. I hope you will forgive me by the next chapter ;)**

_**To Senyor Fier Mensheir**_**: I hope you won't be disappointed with this chapter ;) Though I truly love Kirito and Harry certainly developed a weakness for the kid in the story, he does have a shop to run. You will see a lot more different characters in this chapter.**

_**To Mad Bobert**_**: Unfortunately I must disappoint. Since Harry is part of the system he won't be able to give that kind of information to anyone. While players believe he is a NPC with his own will acting like a regular player, no-one has yet figured out that he works for Kayaba. Though Harry suspects that Kirito and Asuna have their suspicions about his purpose.**

_**To LunaArcelEolia**_**: Don't worry about the length or the bad grammar. I'm glad you reviewed and are willing to share your troubles about the story. While Harry is 24 and Suguha will be 15 when she meets him, I'm a firm believer in love is everything '–less'. This includes ageless. Most likely that this is because I used to have a boyfriend (and ex-fiancé) who was eight years older than me and my sister has a fiancé who is eleven years older than her and we aren't the only ones. I hope you will like what I have in mind for them.**

**To everyone else, thanks for reviewing, following and placing me in your favourite list. And so, ON WITH THE STORY! :D**

_**Chapter warning! Please read!**_** Harry has reached a very drastic point in this chapter so I'm warning for depressing thoughts and bordering suicide.**

**Chapter 2  
Not the ending I wanted**

The end of the first SAO year was greeted by a large number of suicides. Most were from people who had lost hope or had seen too many of their friends die. The rise of the _Player Killers_ didn't help matters either. The first time Harry heard of them was when Klein walked in looking dead on his feet. His bar was so low that one pinch would have killed him. "What happened to you?" Harry asked, rushing to the red headed player and gesturing for him to sit down as he placed a healing item in front of the man.

"Bastards nearly killed me," he muttered, accepting the item and slugging it down. His health bar only filled up a fourth but it was enough for the player to access his own items. "The game is driving them mad so they start to challenge other players instead of fighting monsters. In other games these types of groups not uncommon, but I never suspected they would form such a group here."

Harry frowned and took a seat opposite Klein, offering the red head a steaming cup of coffee before pouring himself some tea. "When did they start?"

"Agil heard the first rumour about a week ago," Klein said after a quiet '_thank you_' and sipped the hot coffee. "Some of my guild members have been saying that the first group appeared two weeks ago. "Dale said he noticed them yesterday. They were on the twelfth floor and he swore he saw orange."

Green eyes narrowed. Everyone knew what the colour orange on a player meant. "At least they're not red yet," he muttered softly.

"Red disappears in a day or so though," Klein said placing his cup on the table a little harder then he probably meant. "You can only be green or orange until the day you die…"

An alarm suddenly lit up and Harry glanced at it. "It seems I have another costumer," he muttered and waved for Klein to stay. "I won't be long. There is some more coffee if you want and there are still some cookies left."

The grin on the red head's face could have lit up the entire room. "Thank you Harry," and the Guild Founder continued to drink his coffee. Harry shook his head in fond amusement and walked to the front of his shop. "Welcome," the raven head said smiling and his eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of a man he hadn't seen in a while. "It seems it is a day for Guild Founders. What can I do for you _Heathcliff_?"

"Cold as always Harry," the older man said sounding slightly disappointed. "And here I thought I had finally gained your approval."

The raven head rolled his eyes at his employer disguised as a player. "Maybe they should be calling you a Beater instead of Kirito-kun," he muttered, remembering the name the other players had given Kirito when it had become known that he had been a Beta-tester.

Kayaba tsk'ed. "That's not very nice either. Have I come at a bad time?"

"Now is as good a time as any," Harry said, keeping his distance between him and his employer. "What is it you wished to speak with me about Heathcliff?"

The creator of SAO sighed and placed himself on the seat next to the counter. "I heard that you sold a _certain_ item to a player who, I am quite sure, wasn't me. Hadn't I asked you that if you ever acquired one you were to alert _me_?"

The raven head crossed his arms across his chest. "I did, didn't I? Otherwise you wouldn't be here at all." With a wave of his hand Harry accessed the system and scanned his private stock. He selected the rare item called _Ring of Angel's Whisper_. "You do realise that the moment the 50th Floor is cleared this item will be freely available to players who pass the challenge? Why do you want it now?"

With another sweeping motion Harry send the item towards Kayaba who accepted it with a frown. "I need it for the boss on this level," the scientist muttered, inspected the item before storing it away.

"Bullshit," Harry muttered. "We both know that's not true." Kayaba was an _Immortal Object_ after all, much like Harry and every other gaming piece was. Being the creator of the game did give you certain privileges.

Kayaba shot him a glare, his lips pressed into a thin line and for a moment they just stared at each other. The Guild Founder stood suddenly and turned to leave. "Oh did you know? It seems that your young friend isn't entirely insensitive to invitations from Guilds."

"What?" Harry whispered relaxing his stance in shock.

"It seems he joined a guild last April called Black Cats of the Full Moon. Heard of it?"

The raven head stumbled slightly and had to lean against the counter to hold himself upright. "It can't be," he muttered, his eyes wide. "They were all killed a few months ago." He remembered it very well, the moment the names of Sachi and the others disappearing from the Monument of Life. He checked it every day to make sure that those closest to him remained alive and well, while keeping track of the ones that died. Kirito's name hadn't disappeared yet.

"Don't worry," Kayaba said, sounding strangely proud somehow. "The kid is still alive, though one might wonder for how long at the rate he is going. Well, see you later Harry." And with a wave the scientist disappeared.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and tried to steady his racing heart. Maybe he should have given that Ring to Kirito instead so he could send messages to the boy. Instead he had sold it to Argo as a means for her to communicate faster with him should he have information on a certain Floor. It had been a good investment of course.

"Harry?" Klein asked, peaking around the corner of the adjourning room. "Are you alright?"

For a moment Harry wondered if the red head had heard everything of his conversation with Heathcliff but the older guy didn't show that he had. The raven head nodded to his friend and gestured for them to re-enter his living space behind the shop. "Just some news our dear Heathcliff decided to share," he said with a sigh and Klein's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That man can be such a pain in the arse sometimes."

"I'm not sure if I should be so surprised to find out that you know someone as influential as the Living Legend," Klein said, his voice a little sharp in his surprise.

Unknown to Harry, his green eyes darkened slightly and the two men fell into a tense silence. "You could say that," the raven head whispered and with a sigh he raised his head to look the red head dead in the eye. "Klein, could you do me a favour?"

…**SAO…**

It turned out Klein spilled his secret to Kirito around Christmas time. The young Beta-tester had not been amused and had entered his shop, his eyes blazing and his sword half drawn. His eyes were red and he looked tired, but the Black Swordsman seemed relaxed. "What gives you the right to check up on me?" he hissed, his voice strangely strangled with a mixture of different emotions. "I can look after myself you know!"

Harry blinked in surprise before he burst out laughing. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Kirito-kun. So Klein spilled the beans huh? I didn't expect him to last this long." Kirito growled and remained in an attack stance. The once wizard pouted slightly. "Don't be so rude kiddo. You know we only wish for you to remain alive and well. How are we going to do that when you go out on suicide missions?"

The Black Swordsman finally relaxed his stance and a sad expression crossed his features momentarily before he appeared relaxed again. "I'm thankful for your concern Harry," he said softly, remaining where he was in the entrance. "But you no longer need to worry."

Harry sighed and stepped forward. To the other boy's surprise the older man hugged him close. "You silly boy," Harry whispered. "Of course I'm worried about you. I will continue to worry about you and everyone else trapped in this wretched Death Game until it is over."

Kirito tensed a little, as if unsure what to do about the older man hugging him, but finally relaxed a little. Harry broke the hug since he knew that the younger boy would never hug him back fully. Dark eyes stared at him inquisitively. "You are one odd AI, you know that," the Beta-tester finally said, placing his sword on the counter of the shop.

It was like a stab to the heart that the young player called him an AI, but Harry recovered quickly and smiled brightly. "I'm guessing your sword needs updating again? I have heard of a few good sword smiths who have settled on the higher levels. They would be able to upgrade your sword and live their lives a little easier if you went there."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" the younger boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry chuckled. "Not at all," the wizard said, quickly scrolling through his list of items and setting to work on the sword. "I'm just saying, what would it benefit me if you spend all your money here rather than on an actual people who need it?"

The raven head worked silently and efficiently after that, working with a practiced ease. The sword had long since become too heavy for him to handle, but as long as Kirito was happy with it Harry continued to upgrade it. When he was finally finished with it the raven head handed it back silently and he wondered how long the sword would last this time. "When you find the right sword for yourself after the fiftieth floor you should find a second one to wield. This one won't last much longer."

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked but Harry just smiled mysteriously at him and waved the player away. "Go fight some more bad guys and do try to stay alive. Oh and tell Agil to come by the shop. I have something he might be interested in."

When the Black Swordsman left Harry closed off the shops and collapsed into his favourite chair in front of the ever blazing fire. His body trembled as emotions coursed through him like a wild storm, but no tears escaped him. He had long since forgotten how to cry. Long since forgotten how to feel the warmth of the sun or the breeze which would caress his face. No longer could he remember how the outside world looked like and he silently wondered if anyone else felt the same way. He had been longer here than anyone else though.

Four long years. He was quite sure that it was going to be his fourth year since he had entered the Cardinal system as a part of the maintenance team. It strangely reminded the wizard of his fourth year at Hogwarts, before everything had gone to hell. Before that tournament had ripped his life apart and caused the jealousy inside his best friend to overflow. How he had wanted nothing more but to run away from that cursed school right there and then. But he had a duty to uphold and if anything Harry was a man of his word, even back then. Besides, where would he have been able to run to at the time? Sure, Sirius had been alive, but the man had been stubborn enough not to go to Grimmauld at the time. Not that Harry could blame him really. Half mad as the old Marauder had been he would have gone completely bonkers. It was probably what made him tip over the edge the moment Sirius realised his Godson had been in trouble.

Harry sighed and poured himself some scotch. Leaning back into his armchair, the wizard pondered on his life before all this happened. When he still felt alive. The raven head chuckled and sipped his drink. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened had he stayed in Britain. Would he have become an Auror? Forced into some position where people could leach out his fame and fortune while gaining more political power than they could handle?

Only a handful of people had cared and watched him go with the promise of keeping him posted. They never had and now that Harry had been stuck inside this retched system the raven head wondered if they would care the moment they heard about this. If they heard about it at all? They didn't know which company he worked for and it was most likely that they news of thousands of players trapped in a simulation game would stay within the borders of Japan. Bad publicity and all.

Massaging his forehead where his old scar used to be, Harry wondered if he should just stop everything. It was clear that no-one understood the position he was in, what he was capable of or who he worked for. Most inexperienced gamers who came by once a month to see about quests or weapons thought him a clever NPC with different quest options. The fact that no quest window ever appeared didn't even seem to registrar with them. Some of them never came back.

Most Beta-players had been killed during the first few months which meant that the ones who had found him were already dead. Now, at the end of the first year, only Kirito remained as part of the Beta-tester team. Not that it had helped the kid much apart from becoming one of the favourites to end the game. Regulars often talked about the Knights of Blood Guild and its members, especially the Lightning Flash Asuna. They only whispered about the Black Swordsman. Some didn't even know Kirito's name.

The select group of strong fighters, the front liners, had their own suspicions about Harry. Still, being called an AI right to his face was like getting slapped in the face by reality. Had he still had his temper Harry would have screamed and cried out to the world that he was just like them? That he too had been trapped inside this system to work for Kayaba, the man he had first admired for his ingenuity before hating him. Now Harry found himself not caring at all.

He had failed and was failing daily, feeling terribly lonesome and horrified that he sends out people to their deaths. Because no matter how well you armed yourself against the creatures of this game, people still had to clear the Boss rooms and they didn't always come back. Harry wondered if Dumbledore had felt the same relief he felt now, every time Hermione, Ron and him had entered themselves in some wild adventure only to return alive. He wondered if Ron and Hermione had ever forgiven him for the fact that he had dragged them along only to leave them behind once the war was over.

The raven head sighed sadly and stared at his right hand where once five words had been carved into. The message seemed almost ironic now. He was telling lies every day without wanting to. He couldn't help it though, because fighting this system was useless. Nothing he had tried had gotten him out of here and not even Kayaba had been able to before the game started. It was his entire fault that the gamers had been trapped inside. Had they been able to release Harry from his virtual prison, the scientist would probably never have…

Harry couldn't finish that thought. Could he really say that Kayaba would never have used the NerveGear and the SAO game to test humanity like this? The guilt for not being able to free himself from Cardinal and the NerveGear didn't leave Harry for the next month though and the day he got trapped inside the system began with some interesting news.

"Laughing Coffin?" Harry asked softly, not really in the mood to discuss anything today. "Hmm, sounds a bit uncaring don't it? Do you know anything about the members?"

Agil shook his head as he watched the raven head test out his new sword against some battle simulation creatures. "They hide their faces beneath hoods. The only way to identify them is from the mark placed on their hands or arms. They've been spreading wide panic throughout the whole of Aincrad."

The raven head danced out of the way when a wolf launched itself at him and with one graceful swing he cleaved it in half. The satisfaction of the kill remained out and Harry tried to remember the first time he had held a virtual sword to kill creatures. He sliced through two more wolves before it went eerily quiet inside the battle grounds. "They sound like real heroes," Harry said with a wry smile, glancing at the taller man. "Tell me Agil, what would possess a group of men and women alike to form a Murderers Guild in a Death Game?"

The older man frowned at him, but suddenly his eyes widened and he went for his Axe. "Watch out Harry!"

"Don't come any closer," Harry barked, making the bald man freeze in his tracks. "This is a battle simulation area. You could still die if you set foot inside the arena." And with that he shot a set of silver knives towards the creature's head which was towering over him. Its large lions head shook them off and swept its snake's tail, catching Harry of guard and sending him flying to the other side of the arena. With a growl Harry stood and ferociously attacked the chimera, clipping the beast's ear before cutting off its sweeping tail. He dived to the side before catching its head in a headlock. The creature shook and tried to get rid of Harry by rushing around the arena, but Harry just clung onto its mane.

Making his way to the chimera's back, the raven head remembered years of Quidditch. Riding a creature this large was different from riding a broom though and his feet felt unsteady of the back of the chimera. Leaping up, Harry used the drop to cleave the creature in two with his sword. It took some effort to get through such a large creature but with a strangled battle cry and a small energy boost to his arms and the chimera soon exploded into tens of thousands tiny shards.

Agil wouldn't notice how much the fight had taken out of Harry, but the raven head felt every muscle shake and every bone rattle as he stumbled out of the arena. He presented the blacksmith with the sword. "What do you think? It's called the Cleaver."

Brown eyes blinked before a stern expression crossed his face. "Aren't there safer ways to test a sword? You could have killed yourself."

Harry's expression fell. "Are you forgetting who you're talking too Agil-kun? Aren't I a…"

"I don't believe that," Agil interrupted him harshly. "You may not have a curser, a health bar or a status window, but I can't believe that you are a simple NPC or even an AI! You act more human than some of the Players who joined this game." Brown eyes softened slightly and the gentle giant placed a hand on Harry shoulder. "No matter whom you are or what brought you here, you are fighting just as hard to get out of here as the others are."

Harry stared at the taller man for some time and wondered when the man had decided to fool himself into thinking that Harry was still human. He had been too long in this world to be still counted as such. "Take the sword Agil and sell it for little profit to someone who will put it to good use. I will keep an eye on things regarding the murderer's guild and keep the people updated. Don't be afraid to come to me if any of you have any questions. Now you had best return to your level or people will get worried and wonder where you are."

The clear dismissal seemed to hurt the taller man, but it was better this way. Who knows what would happen if Agil found out he worked for Kayaba.

…**SAO…**

"How's he doing?"

"He's too stubborn for his own good. He's accepted an outside mission from a fellow player who asked for his help. Apparently a group of player killers murdered his entire guild safe him."

"Hmm, I heard about that. Silver Flags right?"

"How did you…? Never mind, yes it was. Kirito decided to help lock away the killers."

"Which guild?"

"Titan's Hand if my sources are correct. Apparently Rosalia is quite pretty."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. Argo grinned cheekily at him. They were sitting in the small village on the fifth floor. The little girl noticed that Harry had been quite depressed lately, closing his shops and ignoring people when they came for an update on their swords. So she had dragged the raven head out of his castle and to the fifth floor where they could enjoy their time together eating and simply relaxing. Never before had Harry shown himself outside of his shops or houses before so some people were sending them questioning looks, but the two friends just ignored them.

"What about Asuna?"

Argo snorted. "Getting a little ahead of herself. Someone needs to bring her down a few notches before she slips up and dies. Problem is that only her guild leaders and a certain black swordsman will be able to knock some sense into her."

"I've heard the rumours. I believe they call her the Lightning Flash Asuna."

"Don't forget the suffix –_sama_." The two chuckled before falling silent again. "She's good friends with Liz. You know the blacksmith from the 48th Floor. She's quite good, but not widely known because she's so far up."

"Hmm I don't know about that," Harry mused, shifting his position slightly to get more comfortable. "Didn't Agil open is shop of the 50th?"

Argo nodded. "True, but he's already widely known because he started his shop already on the 25th but because Aincrad had 50 floors he figured it would be best to stay in the middle."

Harry frowned a little before sighing. The front line fighters were halfway which had caused quite a disturbance a few weeks ago. "Anyway, the Knights of Blood are doing really well and are growing fast," Argo continued, sipping her drink. "One would think that they were growing a little too fast. People get cocky when they enter well known places or guilds. It makes you wonder how long it will be until it gets destroyed from within."

"You shouldn't say such things Argo," the raven head muttered. "They will need their unity in the end."

The two friends remained silent for a moment, simply enjoying the late winter sun and their food. Something heavy had fallen between them though, a depressing realization which Harry found too painful to speak about. For he knew who was at the head of that Guild and what the man was capable of.

"I don't want it to end that way Harry," Argo muttered suddenly. When Harry looked at his friend he was her true nature reflected in her posture. The true insecurities she held even if she often waved away concerns and never showed her pain of losing friends. She reminded Harry of himself when he had been younger still. "I want us all to be able to be free of this world. I want to feel real sunshine, to feel real cold, to be able to eat and drink real food. My brain may believe that this is all real and like in the real world you can die here as well, but I just want to be able to smile with someone and feel truly alive again. Is that so wrong? To wish for an ending to all this?"

Harry looked at the people around them who were enjoying virtual life, getting used to the days spend in this game. They didn't know how else to behave and had probably already given up hope in getting out of here. So people got married and lived together in the same house, got jobs and looked after each other by cooking and working. Harry believed that the Army had already formed plans of asking for taxes.

"It is deceiving to live in this world," he said softly, looking at a happy couple who were shopping on the other side of the street. "After a certain amount of time you get used to it, thinking that you've lived here for much longer than just a year. A small part of their brain remembers that they are in a virtual world and that people are fighting for them to get out of here. But those who wish to live their lives find themselves doing so with the people they met here. They form guilds, bonds, families so they don't feel so alone in this cold world."

Harry looked at the little girl who was sitting next to him as she stared up at him from beneath her hood. "You are not wrong to wish for this world to end," he said reassuringly, feeling a little better after talking to the girl who he had begun to see as his little sister. "All we can do is believe and support those who are doing everything they can clear this wretched world."

**A/N: I actually wanted to end SAO after this chapter but I kept getting more inspired while watching the series (again) so I decided to end the SAO world in the next chapter and do a small interlude for the real world and switching to Suguha. Depending on how I plan the next chapter this may change though :P Anyway, hope you liked it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Another one :D**

**Asuna may sound a little bitchy in the beginning of the chapter but I have no intent on bashing. Funny thing is that she reminded me a little about Lily Evans-Potter and Ginny Weasley with their fiery tempers when I was writing about her. (another plot bunny just popped up *sigh*)**

**Chapter 3  
Missing you here**

It was at the start of April when a rumour started going around Aincrad that it was possible to get killed inside the safe zones. When Harry heard the rumour he merely sighed and continued to ignore it in favour for selling the items to his customer at the time. It wasn't possible to be killed inside the safe zones. That's what they were for after all. To give the gamer time to rest, re-equip and explore, maybe even meet new people. He had designed some of the safe zones and the basic programming had been copied to every safe zone. It was impossible to kill a player inside city walls.

Of course they could get harmed and their HP damaged while fighting duels, but those didn't count as killing.

It was a week after hearing the rumour for the first time and Harry was sitting in his favourite armchair reading a book, when a message signal shook him out of his comforting position. A little annoyed since he had just reached the best part, Harry pressed the annoying flashing button. "What do you wish to know now Agil? I told you before that unless you have a Heavenly Stone, I cannot upgrade -"

"That's not why I'm calling Harry-kun," Agil said, his deep voice filled with worry. "We need your opinion about something."

"We?" Harry muttered, clearly confused and suddenly his friends voice was drowned out by the commanding voice of Asuna. The raven head sighed and rolled his eyes. "Should have known. Have they taken over your shop Agil? I didn't know you could be overthrown this easily?" he teased his friend, finding amusement in the older man's discomfort.

Another male chuckled while Agil continued to sputter slightly in defence. "Really this is a serious call," Asuna said in a scolding tone, but its effect was a little lost on Harry.

"Seriously Sirius?" Harry was probably the only one who understood that joke fully, but he used it anyway. He was quite sure that his Godfather wouldn't have minded his name being used like that. Asuna was growling and half shouting down the line while threatening the two males at her end at the same time. The raven head sighed and relaxed into his chair. "Alright princess, calm down. Just tell me what got you all hot and bothered."

"We were just wondering about something in the system," Asuna said, clearly a little put out by his attitude but still frustrated enough to talk to him. "Agil-kun and Kirito-kun both seemed to think that you know more about the system than anyone we know."

Harry chuckled darkly. "I wonder about that," he muttered, idly flipping through the pages of his book. Of course they didn't know that Heathcliff was actually Kayaba or that Harry had apprenticed under said man and had been stuck inside Cardinal for four years now. If they would ever find out, everyone would probably blame him for getting them locked inside the system and a massive man hunt would most likely form. Not that Harry could actually be killed. Cardinal saw him as part of the system, thus had made him an Immortal Object. He had tried to kill himself multiple times after all, but it seemed he was Master of Death as much here as in the real world.

"Hello? Harry, are you still there?" Agil's worried voice drifted through the line and Harry blinked away his sober thoughts.

"Unfortunately yes," he said with a bitter smile. "Tell me about the _Sirius_ stuff."

"Well you've probably heard the rumours-" _Not again, _Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. "- but there had been a murder inside the safe zone," Kirito said hesitantly. "We recovered the spear and taken it to Agil. Turns out the spear is called Guilty Thorn and the maker was someone called Grimrock. There's nothing really special about the weapon and the maker is relatively unknown."

"Aren't you guys jumping to conclusions?" Harry drawled, already distancing himself from the conversation. It was clear that they still didn't understand anything about what was happening.

"What do you mean?" Asuna hissed. "A guy was murdered inside a safe-"

"And that's what I call jumping to conclusions Asuna-_sama_," the raven head said, annoyed with the commanding voice of that little girl. Not that it was her fault of course, but Harry wished she would get off of her high horse already. "Murders do not happen inside safe zones. It is what they were designed to be. Make sure that the guy is really dead before you start spreading Aincrad wide panic. Now if you three don't mind, I've got a book to finish. Oh and Agil, you owe me 100 coins and a new bowl from our last game. Don't forget to pay up."

And Harry logged out of the conversation.

…_**SAO…**_

"Are you… Harry?"

Harry looked up to stare at his newest customer. "Finally found your way to my shop I see," the raven head said with a cheeky smile and the brown haired girl's eyebrow started to twitch. "Still irritable I see. You really need to learn how to reign in that temper of yours or you're going to get into trouble because of it at some point." _Because I know exactly what sort of trouble an irritable temper can give you._

She was frowning and her entire posture screamed resentment and displeasure, but she relaxed suddenly and her eyes softened slightly. "Kirito-kun told me you sell a lot of rare items and help upgrade weapons," she said. It appeared she had found a person who could calm her mind slightly. The raven head fought to keep from smiling. "I was wondering if you had any information on something call _Hero's Crest_?"

Harry smirked a little. "And what would you do with that kind of information? It is not a very common item after all."

Asuna flushed and crossed her arms across her chest, turning her head away from him as if to say that it really wasn't his business at all. "It's nothing special."

"If it's nothing special then there's no use in giving you that type of information," the raven head said, smiling like a Cheshire cat and his green eyes almost gleaming in the light of the store. He enjoyed teasing his customers, especially when they became defensive like this. Of course it didn't help that Asuna reminded him of someone he loved to tease when he was still alive.

"You're impossible," she huffed and swiftly turned. "Forget it." And without even saying goodbye the _Lightning Flash_ Asuna stomped out the door, slamming the door only to be given an _Immortal Object_ warning.

Harry chuckled. "Oh how I love to tease the young and naïve. It reminds me of the good old days." He turned to walk back to his living area when the bell chimed again. Asuna was standing in the doorway once more, her face oddly blank but she was breathing harshly. "You didn't last very long," the raven head said, feeling almost disappointed.

Her brown eyes narrowed for a split second before her face relaxed again. "How much does the information cost?" she all but hissed.

The raven head raised an amused eyebrow before checking his item list. "For an item this rare… 2000 coins." Asuna bristled and Harry smirked. "For you… 1500 and three _Service Rings_."

"Are you insane?" she cried out, her fists clenched and shaking. "That is extortion!"

"Is it?" Harry asked calmly. "The Service Rings cost about 50 coins each, meaning that you have a discount of 350 coins."

"That's not what I mean," Asuna argued, her hands twitching towards her sword. "How can information regarding an item cost 2000 coins?"

"Profit little lady," the raven head said while shrugging his shoulders. "You must understand that the information regarding that item is hard to come by. Even the item itself would sell for over 50.000 coins. It's not my fault you chose to look for information on one of the rarer items on Aincrad."

Asuna huffed and turned to leave again. "When you return the price will be the same," Harry called after her but she had already slammer the door shut. Curious about the fact that she seemed to be in the habit of returning Harry moved around the counter and opened the shop door. "Wow, have I become this popular?"

A sea of white was spread out on the street in front of his shop. "Are you guys having a meeting, because then I would recommend getting to a pub or something. You guys are blocking my entry way. Oy Asuna-_sama,_ won't you get your men out of here already. Oh and if you have time to spare could you ask Ashley to come by my place of 28th? I have something interesting for her." The raven head winked at her before turning back to his shop, locking up for today and returning to his main house.

He chuckled to himself, feeling quite satisfied. There had definitely been a difference between her attitude of a few days ago and when she had entered his shop just now, but it needed to be reined in a little bit more. The girl might be a front liner but she wasn't an exception to dying in this game. He didn't care if he was rude to her and might possibly loose a few customers over this little game of wills. As long as she understood that an attitude like that could get her killed, Harry wouldn't mind losing out.

Pursing his lips he flipped on the radio and hummed along as a familiar song started. He quickly made something to eat, not really bothered anymore by the amount of work cut in halve. Harry had loved to cook when he left Britain, throwing himself into cooking and baking courses while learning the new language. He had maxed the culinary level within the game shortly after arriving, mainly because he had nothing better to do in his monthly long lockdown and so everything was relatively easy. A few clicks of a button and the raven head could make an entire feast. Not that he had anyone to share it with…

Playing a waiting game he had designed and installed a little while ago, Harry sighed as a written message suddenly blinked to life.

_Heard you were causing some trouble.  
Which house or shop are you at?_

_Klein_

Harry snorted and shook his head. "Word travels fast hmm," the raven head muttered and he contemplated answering. Maybe he should just ignore it for today. Then again…

_Are you doing your lady a service?  
Teddy Mill Farm, 28__th__ Floor.  
Hope you guys are hungry._

It didn't take long before there was a polite knock on the door which echoed through the empty farm. Harry had just finished setting the table for the entire company and smiled as he opened the door. "If it isn't the brave Fuurinkazan brothers," he said cheerfully and stepping out of the way in a gesture of hospitality. "Do come in. I do hope you guys are hungry for I have prepared a feast out of boredom without any hope of finishing it myself."

Dale was the first one to stumble across the threshold, giving the others a reason to enter as well. It was a funny sight to behold, watching the group of front liners gape like fish on dry land at his farm house. The house was completely done in old English style, complete with thatched roof and old stone walls. The floor creaked pleasantly underneath their feet and a large fireplace dominated part of the living area. The kitchen was large enough to eat in, its wooden cupboards and AGA giving it a homely feel. A few old workbenches were placed in the corners and a long table was placed in the middle of the kitchen enough for eight people.

It wasn't the first time people had entered this house. Ashley, the best seamstress in Aincrad, had been here once or twice. Harry had allowed her to decorate the place to her hearts contents, which meant that everything was either cream coloured or red. The raven head didn't mind since it made him feel a little more at home. That and he spend most of his time in the castle on floor 42 anyway, which had also been decorated by Ashley but more to his tastes.

His other houses had been decorated by Ashley as well. Harry had made sure that the moment she had maxed her skill level she had enough work to do. He had helped a few people like that, making sure they could max their skill levels before giving them enough work so they could open their own shops to help other players. Of course Harry stated that it was merely for selfish reasons. The ones who had worked for him knew different though, even if they saw him as nothing but an AI.

As the Guild plus Harry settled down to eat, conversation was started awkwardly between the Guild members. While they were used to seeing Harry inside his shops, they had never interacted with him in one of his homes. Seeing him enjoy his food seemed a new experience entirely. "So how are the front lines?" Harry asked, trying to make the group of gamers feel more at ease. I heard you guys reached the 59th Floor. Found any interesting new items?"

"Not really," Kunimitzz said between bites. Out of everyone he and Klein seemed to be most at ease. "I think we're all just happy to have survived the last boss. It was one Hell of a fight and we lost about six players to the bastard."

Klein nodded and sipped from his drink. "You would think fighting a massive Samurai* would be easy work but the guy kept switching weapons and skills. When we finally figured out his weakness he would switch, making it near impossible to catch up to him. Didn't help that the guy became a zombie type when he still had about 5% of his life left."

"Hmm they're always the hardest," Harry mused earning a few weird looks which he ignored. "You guys might want to visit the south end of the mountain. A search there would prove beneficial. Try not to look to conspicuous though. Last time I gave out such information without payment I nearly for my arse fried."

Dale and the one called Harry-One though dubbed H-One since meeting Harry snorted and raised their glasses to salute him. The raven head nodded with a twisted smile of his own. "So what's this about me causing trouble?" The group of front line gamers quickly turned into a group of rowdy boys as the night grew dark. Harry didn't mind that they stayed or that they seemed to forget he was there in the end. All that mattered was that the house wasn't silent anymore.

…_**SAO…**_

The world seemed to continue its set pace and Harry speculated how long it would take for the front lines to reach the 100th floor since they seemed to move slower than before. The Boss rooms appeared harder to find and the Bosses themselves even harder to defeat. At least they hadn't lost any more people since they reached 65th Floor. Not that it had helped them any in defeating the creatures faster or levelling up, which was expected but caused for a few bouts of depression.

The trees swayed in the breeze and for a moment all Harry could think about was how peaceful this place truly was. Nothing was happening, no-one was rushing, and there was no noise of traffic or foul smell. The only thing he could hear were birds singing and wildlife moving through the forest, water rushing through a small stream and the wind rushing leaves from trees.

He sighed in relief and relaxed into the soft grass, simply enjoying the day as it passed by in a haze of colours and impressions. Nothing would get him to leave this spot today. Absolutely nothing…

"I see you are enjoying your day off?"

Emerald green eyes opened to peer up towards the man who had trapped him inside this virtual world. "I was until you showed up," Harry muttered lazily, closing his eyes again. "Please leave me alone."

"My, Harry," Kayaba sighed and Harry could feel the older man taking a seat next to him. "You're being so cruel today. I would have thought that today would be an exception."

"Why would today be an exception?" Harry muttered, feeling torn between answering the man or just ignoring him.

"I don't know," the scientist mused, sounding slightly amused. The man almost sounded like his old self again, before he had gotten obsessed with his system. "Maybe because it's such a nice day outside or because you've got a day off work? Or maybe even the fact that the front lines have reached the 70th Floor? Take your pick, I've got more."

The raven head opened his eyes again to stare at his sensei and employer. "Please return to being your sadistic and cold self, sensei," he said deadpanned earning a questioning look from the older man. A small blush heated Harry's cheeks. "You're freaking me out." Expressive grey eyes which didn't seem to belong to the scientist at all stared down at his apprentice for a few seconds before the man burst out laughing. The former Wizard turned away from the sight. "You're embarrassing yourself," he muttered. "What is someone sees?"

Kayaba chuckled a little while longer before he turned to look at the swaying Sakura trees which surrounded the house. "You don't have to worry about that," the scientist said. The man looked relaxed and quite at home in this little piece of paradise. "You locked this place up pretty tight. I had to access my administrator's code before I could enter. I'm glad I did. This place reminds me of home."

Harry remained silent after that. He didn't have a counter for that statement after all. He drifted slightly in and out of consciousness over the course of the day, ignoring his sensei as the man stayed by his side. The man seemed as relaxed as the raven head and just as content to spend the day in silence. They ate together and drank tea, both enjoying the sunshine and the pleasant breeze. When dinnertime arrived Harry sat up from his patch of grass and dusted himself off. "You staying for dinner then sensei?"

The older man looked up from where he had been reading his book. "If you don't mind."

Raven black hair swayed a little as Harry shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I would be a poor host to send someone away just before dinnertime." And he set out to cook a simple meal for two. For some reason Kayaba insisted on having music play in the background and Harry let him. He didn't really mind and the sound of traditional instruments seemed to sooth his mind a little.

At dinner they spoke a little about things which weren't really relevant to either party. They didn't talk about the past, or what was happening in the real world. They didn't even speak about how the gamers were progressing through the game. All they spoke about was science and technology and even the fictional books Harry had been reading. They played Shoji and Koi-Koi after dinner while Harry ate some treacle tart and Kayaba was content with eating umeboshi.

It was late when Kayaba finally called it quits and stood to leave. Harry followed his sensei to his front door. For a moment it seemed that they would part in silence as well when the scientist suddenly turned to the wizard with an intense and searching gaze. The raven head frowned a little at the intensity of it and wondered if the man was troubled by something. The older man smiled suddenly. It was a small smile and one Harry wasn't used to seeing on the serious man, but it made him feel a little more at ease. "I hope you've had a nice birthday Harry."

And with that the man left, leaving Harry standing in the doorway with his mouth fallen open in shock.

…_**SAO…**_

The days after Harry birthday blurred together until they would become a mix of emotions and impressions and before he realised it October had started. At first Harry hoped the month would fly by as well when it was suddenly announced that Kirito joined Knights of Blood. Quite sure that it was just a misunderstanding, the raven head ignored the information and continued on with his work. He couldn't ignore it anymore though when Kirito entered his shop together with Asuna, both dressed in the white and red colours of their Guild.

All Harry could do was gape and stare, blink a few times before pinching himself. "White doesn't suit you," was the only thing Harry could think of.

Asuna giggled and Kirito huffed a little before frowning. "I got beaten fair and square," the 'Black' Swordsman muttered, a light blush spreading across his cheeks.

The former Wizard raised a questionable eyebrow but shook it off. He probably didn't want to know. "So what can I do for you two lovebirds?" he asked, smirking slightly when the two gamers started to turn pink in embarrassment. "Don't tell me you two finally decided to get married?"

It was quite amusing to watch the two gamers sputter and stammer a while. "Forget it, forget it," Harry said with a wink when it appeared he wouldn't get anything sensible out of them for a while. "What can I do for you two? I promise I won't tease."

"We decided to take a few days off after everything that happened," Asuna said and she bumped Kirito's shoulder in comfort. Harry had noticed the orange curser floating above the boy's head, but didn't want to pry. Kirito would tell him if he wanted too. "We won't be around and felt like letting you know."

Harry frowned a little before smiling kindly. There was probably something more, something at least one of them was hiding, but he wasn't one to ask. What importance did he hold in their lives anyway? In their eyes he was nothing but an AI, a programme created for their benefit. Something which would disappear the moment the game was cleared and the data destroyed. "People need their alone time," he said with a wink. "Have fun you two and enjoy your holiday."

"Thank you Harry," Asuna said, giving him a warm smile. She kept looking at Kirito, but the Black Swordsman merely nodded his thanks and they both turned to leave. As Harry turned back to his work, the dark haired gamer suddenly stopped and turned.

"We're getting married," he blurted out and Harry looked up at the boy he had become so fond of. Asuna turned away in embarrassment, her face slightly red again. Kirito's eyes shone with honesty and happiness. "I wanted your blessing."

The admission took Harry completely by surprise and it took him a while for the words to sink in. Kirito fidgeted all the while, showing a side the Wizard had never seen before in the solo gamer. Before he had even realised it the twenty-four-year-old had walked up to the couple and swept them up in a bone crushing hug. The two gamers froze before Asuna hugged him half-heartedly back and Kirito rested his hand on Harry's shoulder blade in an attempt of a hug.

Breaking the hug, he planted a small kiss on both their foreheads before placing his hands on their shoulders. "I'm happy that you two found each other," he said with a smile. "I give you two my blessing. Be happy and healthy in this world."

The happy couple smiled and thanked him before leaving. Harry stood in the same spot for a while, frozen by the happiness which passed when the two gamers left him shop. He was happy for them of course, but it seemed that even they had finally settled into their life here. They hadn't given up getting to the 100th Floor of course, not by a long shot. But the fact that they actually wanted to get married and live together felt like the beginning of the end.

He shook off these feelings and decided to be happy for the couple, working harder than before to supply his customers. Of course their planned vacation didn't last long as 13 days later it was rumoured that the front lines had found 75th Floor Boss room, successfully wiping out half of the party which had set out to defeat it.

_November 7__th_

Harry felt nervous and a strange type of excitement. Like something was about to happen but he just didn't know what. It was odd that he would feel these feelings coursing through his body. The raven head hadn't felt this way since he had entered the game, so why was it that he had them now? Was it because they hadn't had any casualties in a while and now had suddenly lost half of a search party? Was it because he had become too close to Asuna and Kirito after giving his blessing? But then shouldn't he feel worried about everyone in Aincrad, because didn't he care about every individual here? Or was it because he felt slightly disconnected since this afternoon?

The former Wizard rubbed his hands together and tried to focus on his work. Suddenly he heard an odd buzzing and turned to look around. He didn't have any radios on in his direct vicinity though and no alarms or messages flashed in his screen. The raven head rubbed his ears and closed his eyes. Emerald eyes snapped open almost immediately. Someone was talking, but there was no-one around but him.

Harry turned and sat down in one of his chairs, closing his eyes again. The voices returned, faintly echoing through his head like he was standing at the other end of a canyon. "_Kayaba Akihiko_," the voice said and Harry was strangely reminded of Kirito. But that couldn't be. The group was 33 Floors up, fighting against a Boss.

"_You are correct_," a different voice said and this time Harry definitely recognised his boss. He focussed on the voices, trying to figure out how he could hear them and if it was supposed to mean something. Maybe it was a glitch or a failing in the system because someone had found out who Heathcliff really was. But why would that be linked to him?

When Harry opened his eyes he fully expected to see the inside of his shop again, but instead of the merry lit room the raven head stood in darkness. He turned when he heard the faint echoing of sword against sword. Where there people fighting? Following the sound a suddenly wail of despair echoed through the hall and Harry moved a little faster.

A dim light threw him off balance for a moment and he blinked to focus himself on the scene in front of him. In horrified fascination the raven head watch his sensei being impaled by the sword of a fading Kirito. He stumbled into the room just as the cries of multiple freed souls filled it. The two bodies vanished when Harry's world fell apart around him and absolute darkness was suddenly replaced by direct sunlight.

He was standing at the end of the world plateau, watching the gaming world of Aincrad slowly crumble into nothingness. Slowly he walks to the edge and sits down, swinging his legs back and forth and silently wondering what was going to happen now. "It seems I was found out and defeated before the 100th Floor," Kayaba said, standing behind his student.

"It seems you were," Harry muttered lightly. "What's going to happen now?"

"The ones who survived will return to reality of course," the scientist said. "And you get to go home."

"Home?" Harry asked wishfully. "I wonder about that…"

"Harry is here too?" another suddenly asked and the sensei and his student looked up simultaneously to see Kirito and Asuna standing not far from them. Harry smiled softly at them and nodded to the two lovers.

Kayaba turned to look at them fully. "Yes, Harry-kun is here too."

"You mean that Harry…?" Asuna started and the scientist nodded.

"I'm a special case though, aren't I sensei?" Harry said with a small, sad smile and he looked back at the destruction of the place he was almost starting to call home. He didn't listen to the conversation which started between the two gamers and the creator. He knew the questions they would ask and the answers Kayaba wouldn't be able to give. The older man suddenly placed a slender hand on his shoulder and emerald eyes focussed themselves on his sensei. Harry felt tired and weary, like he had travelled for a long time and was finally allowed to rest.

"Let's go home now," Kayaba said softly and Harry nodded before closing his eyes. If felt like being disassembled before being slowly pieced together. Loosing track of time in the everlasting darkness, Harry simply let his mind wander a little before shutting down. It wouldn't do for being impatient now. He had waited four and a half years for the day he could return to reality. A few more hours of darkness would be worth the wait…

…_**RL…**_

Suguha sighed while she stared at her AmuSphere, hesitating (not for the first time) to put it on. She felt a little guilty playing ALfheim Online while her brother, no her _cousin_ was lying unconscious in the hospital, trapped inside a virtual world. Sure it was because of Kazuto that she was currently playing ALfheim. She had been so sure that the moment she would enter such a world she would hate it and log-out right away. Suguha had been proven terribly wrong though and now she found herself wanting to play every waking moment.

Turning around she wrapped herself around her plush toy, wondering if she wasn't being a little bit lazy today. She had finished her homework after Kendo practice and since they hadn't planned to visit Kazuto until later this evening she would have about three hours to play a little before heading down for dinner and then the hospital. Her mother was out, so she didn't have to worry about her. She still hadn't told her mother about the AmuSphere or ALO, though Suguha suspected her mother know. She seemed to know everything which went on in her daughter's life, which unnerved the fifteen, soon sixteen, year old a little.

The dark haired girl sighed and her hand wandered towards the AmuSphere. Maybe she should refuse Nagata's invitation and start roaming a little by herself. She had been playing with the idea for a while now, to leave the city and her guild so she could explore the lands by herself. Sure it would be fun to have someone tag along, but Nagata didn't seem the type to say 'no' to his fellow guild members. Even if he was her supposed mentor and partner in VRMMORPGS. She chuckled softly as she remembered his flushed face when she had first approached him. It was because of Nagata that Suguha played ALfheim Online in the first place and was quite thankful to her virtual friend. Even if he could be a little clingy and whiny at times.

Her hand had sneaked around the AmuSphere and Suguha inspected the device before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to play a little for a while. The clock flashed 3:00PM before she lowered the gaming device over her dark grey hair. Her surroundings remained dark, which was unusual and an apprehensive feeling sneaked up on her. It hadn't broken down, had it?

"_This is an update warning_," a technical voice spoke suddenly and the dark haired fifteen-year-old fought her hardest not to swerve with her head. She hadn't been logged into the game after all. "_Until 6PM on November the Seventh of this year, ALfheim Online with be closed off for updating maintenance. Please log off. We apologise for the inconvenience. This is an update warning…"_

The mechanical voice continued to issue the updating warning and Suguha removed the AmuSphere with a sigh. "Now what am I supposed to do?" she huffed in frustration and placed the gaming device back on her nightstand. It was strange that she suddenly wasn't able to access ALfheim Online, more because they always seemed to do updates at night when most gamers were offline anyway and always when a 24hours warning could be given.

"Oh well," Suguha sighed and she dragged herself in an upright position before raising herself from her bed. "Might as well practice Kendo for a while with the tournament coming up and everything." Just as she was getting ready, the indoor phone rang. Frowning at the display which signalled that her mother was calling she picked up the phone. "Moshi Moshi, Kirigaya residence."

"Suguha?" her mother's excited voice nearly shouted down the line. "Get to the hospital! Kazuto is awake!"

**A/N: And that's the end of the SAO Arc.**

***Actually got this boss idea from watching Sucker Punch. It's a really good movie if you ever get the chance of watching it, please do. Even if it's not an Anime the game style fights are really cool.**


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